UN Expert Warns Ireland’s Climate Targets at Risk

Puentes Riaño recognised significant achievements, including strengthened environmental regulations, the phase-out of coal, and the promotion of cleaner fuels as part of Ireland’s energy transition.

Ireland has made measurable strides in environmental protection and climate governance, but those gains could be undermined by regressive policy proposals and inadequate environmental assessments of major projects, a United Nations human rights expert warned today.

Astrid Puentes Riaño, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, issued the warning at the conclusion of her official visit to Ireland, urging authorities to ensure that strategic infrastructure and investment decisions comply fully with national, European and international environmental law.

Progress Acknowledged — But Fragile

Puentes Riaño recognised significant achievements, including strengthened environmental regulations, the phase-out of coal, and the promotion of cleaner fuels as part of Ireland’s energy transition.

However, she cautioned that these advances risk being reversed if economic and infrastructure priorities proceed without rigorous climate and environmental impact assessments — including potential cross-border effects.

“Economic revenue must not come at the expense of protecting the environment and human rights,” she said, pointing to the escalating impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution. Recent flooding in Dublin, she noted, highlights the growing risks.

2030 Emissions Target Set to Be Missed

The Irish Government has acknowledged that it will not meet its legally binding target of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The expert warned that failure to align infrastructure and sectoral decisions with climate law undermines legal certainty and investor confidence.

She cited several policy areas where comprehensive, science-based assessments remain insufficient or incomplete:

• The EU nitrates derogation affecting agricultural emissions and water quality

• Proposals for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure

• Plans to lift the passenger cap at Dublin Airport

According to the Special Rapporteur, excluding climate and environmental considerations in such decisions increases risk, creates policy contradictions and fosters uncertainty across sectors.

Legal Obligations Cannot Be Bypassed

Puentes Riaño stressed that both Irish national courts and the International Court of Justice have made clear that new projects and planning processes must fully assess environmental and climate impacts.

“Urgency cannot justify bypassing Ireland’s obligation to undertake comprehensive and integral environmental and risk assessments when policies or projects might have significant impacts,” she said.

She warned against proposals aimed at “simplifying” environmental regulations, including reforms to judicial review processes.

Access to justice, she emphasized, is a human right enshrined in the Aarhus Convention and fundamental to effective environmental governance.

Call to Strengthen Environmental Rights Framework

Stakeholders across government, civil society and academia identified the need for more consistent and coherent environmental legislation.

Puentes Riaño recommended explicitly recognising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in Ireland’s national legal framework, arguing that such recognition would help close existing legislative gaps and strengthen accountability.

Rather than weakening regulatory safeguards, she urged authorities to:

• Reinforce enforcement and monitoring capacity

• Strengthen access to environmental information

• Guarantee meaningful public participation

• Protect environmental defenders

• Safeguard access to justice

These measures, she said, are essential not only for environmental protection but also for democracy and the rule of law.

Participation Must Influence Decisions

While Ireland has consultation processes in place, the Special Rapporteur observed that public input is not always meaningfully reflected in final decisions.

She called for stronger integration of the perspectives of youth, children, women, Travellers and people living in poverty — groups often disproportionately affected by environmental harm.

“Ireland stands at an important moment to reinforce environmental protection while strengthening human rights and democracy,” she said.

EU Presidency Opportunity

With Ireland set to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union later this year, Puentes Riaño encouraged the country to use its leadership role to advance stronger environmental and human rights protections across Europe.

Her full findings and recommendations will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2027.